WIS IS AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
As such we have adopted curriculum programmes that we feel draw from the best educational practice from around the world. We do not adhere to any one national curriculum, as this does not offer the most appropriate educational experience for a diverse student body such as ours.
In Middle School (Grade 6 - 8) we offer a conceptual understanding approach to teaching and learning. WIS uses the Australian National Curriculum to provide the scope and sequence of content/skills (the what and when) and the IBMYP programme as a foundation to develop the subject units and assesses student understanding (how and why) through the IBMYP subject criteria. WIS is presently an IB Middle Years Programme Candidate School, on its way to becoming an IB Continuum School offering the PYP, MYP, and DP curricular frameworks throughout our school.*
There are explicit aims and objectives for each subject appropriate to the age level, and each course is articulated in terms of concepts and skills to be acquired, curriculum content and assessment expectations.
Teachers design/teach the units through key and related concepts for students to acquire enduring understandings of how the subjects relate to their own lives. Teachers use their own pedagogical styles in response to the needs, interests, and aptitudes of the students. We value diversity and aim to accommodate children from different backgrounds and abilities through individual attention and a differentiated teaching approach.
In Grade 9 and 10 we offer the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), a curriculum programme that is externally moderated by the University of Cambridge in the UK and which is specifically designed for International schools. IGCSE caters to a broad range of subjects covering five groups viz. Languages, Mathematics, Sciences, Humanities and Creative, Vocational and Technical.
As an IB MYP Candidate School*, it is anticipated that our current Grade 9 cohort will undertake the MYP eAssessment in lieu of the IGCSE when they complete Grade 10 in May/June 2025.
In Grade 11 and 12 we offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). The IB Diploma is intended for students in their last two years of Secondary education who plan to continue with academic work in their post-secondary studies. WIS has an entry requirement for admission into the IB Diploma Programme.
A C-average (or the equivalent and positive feedback on conduct and commitment from previous schools or teachers) has to be obtained in the IGCSE subjects which will be continued in the IB Diploma Programme. With the IB Diploma, students are enabled entry to tertiary education all around the world. While university acceptance practices vary in different countries, the IB Diploma is recognised either by the governments or by the leading universities in over 100 countries.
WIS graduates normally enter tertiary education in South Africa (mainly the University of Cape Town / UCT), the UK, the Netherlands, the USA and Canada.
*Windhoek International School is a Candidate School** for the MYP. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Windhoek International School believes is important for our students.
**Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit http://www.ibo.org
